A closer look at what school children are eating!

These last few weeks of school, I’ve been busy cramming for exams and planning for my final year in high school, so I’m sorry for the insane lack of posts. I hope you guys understand. This blog was my final exam for my journalism class, and even though I may not be in journalism next year, I plan on continuing this site next year. Tomorrow is my last full day here at school. See you next year! :)

I haven’t been posting this week, mainly because I don’t have my camera, and taking pictures with my phone and getting them to my computer is pretty tedious. I will be getting my camera this weekend though, so I can start posting daily next week. This week, we ate the same cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, tacos, etc.

Tomorrow I plan on posting another student opinion article in place of this weeks lunch. I will also be answering all questions in tomorrows post, so if you have any, feel free to ask!

Breakfast pizza again. At least they finally realized that a single breakfast pizza isn’t a meal and added grits.. Overall rating: 5

Today’s lunch menu: Chicken strips, wheat roll, juice, and/or milk.

FINALLY! I’ve been waiting SO long for our school to offer juice at lunch instead of just milk everyday. It was refreshing to have orange juice today instead of the same ol’ chocolate milk. The chicken strips were good also, much better then the chicken nuggets. The whole wheat roll was good also. Overall rating: 7

I got some questions in the comments today, so I decided to reply to them. If you guys have any other questions, feel free to ask!

Does anyone ask why you are taking pictures of your lunch?
-Haha yeah, all the time. I have to explain myself at least twice a day!

Does your school board have a website with school menu and nutrition information for each selection?
-We do have a website with the breakfast/lunch menu on it, but no nutritional information is shown. The menu has a “meal of the month” with a “calorie analysis” (I just noticed this.) I’ll most likely start posting them.

Do you have the option to bring your lunch on the days you know you wont like what is served?
-Yes, we have the option of bringing our lunch. But most families around here cannot afford to buy their children lunch daily, as our school breakfast and lunch is 100% free.

Also is it possible to talk to the lunchroom staff and have them cut your apple up?
-If I ask for it to be cut up, then other students will, and the lunch ladies will go mad! The culinary room is off of the cafeteria, so I may just go there to cut my apples whenever necessary.

Do they actually cook anything that is served to you all or does your school kitchen just open packages and reheat?
-I’ve been in the room where school lunch is prepared, and none of it looks like anything you’d use to actually cook something. It all looks like heat-up ovens and big pots (for things like soup.) I’m not 100% sure whether anything is actually cooked or not, though.

Why don’t you ever eat the fruit?
-I’m not a big fan of packaged fruit… and peaches everyday would get pretty sickening after awhile.

I haven’t really done random blogs yet, but I think I should start because we are offered a lot of different alternatives daily. Our school doesn’t really have a “Vegetarian Option”, just a “light alternative”. This normally consists of carrots, fruit (an orange or apple,) graham crackers, and peanuts. Although it seems healthy, it isn’t filling whatsoever. I have a vegetarian friend who practically starves everyday because of the lack of food she receives. Everyday it’s either this or a salad, which is about as filling as the alternative. I think it’s ridiculous that most schools don’t offer full vegetarian meals, at least to the students who request it. If your child was a vegetarian, would you want them to eat this everyday?

It’s funny how one thing can make something so much better. I’m completely fine with the sausage and biscuit when gravy comes with it. It was really good! No fruit cup again today though. Overall rating: 7

The chicken sandwich was good today, the bun was soft (not rock solid!) The baked potato came with butter and sour cream, which is all I need. I’m just guessing the stuff in the cup is broccoli, because I have no idea what else it could be…. Overall rating: 6

I got to school late today, so I missed breakfast. I don’t really like this chicken much. It’s very greasy. All the kids are crazy for it though. The cornbread is good when salt is added, and the rice was okay. I couldn’t eat the apple.Overall rating: 6

I decided to chose the alternative today, because we had sausage biscuits again. We actually have a lot of different types of cereal offered, and all of them are reduced sugar! (A picture of the nutrition information below.) A little bowl of cereal isn’t that filling though. I didn’t get any grits because I wasn’t very hungry, and I don’t think grits would go well with cereal anyways. The grape juice was pretty good also, it wasn’t frozen or warm. Overall rating: 6

We got desert today! :) The only things I ate off the plate were the burger and cookie. The beans looked gross, and I cannot bite whole apples due to a jaw disorder. I wish they would slice the fruit or something. Overall rating: 6

About

Parents from all over the United States send their children to school on a daily basis, expecting them to be fed healthy, filling meals. But us students know that in reality, it’s nowhere near that. We are fed nasty preservatives, too much sugar, and just flat out disgusting food. Although some of it is good (some just barely acceptable..), this blog is here to take you on a journey of the day-to-day food adventure of high school students.

The bloggers and school name will remain completely anonymous, for respect.

Inspiration for this website is from “Mrs. Q”‘s Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project.